Rolling mill bearing



Nov. 15, 1949 J. M. OMALLEY ROLLING MILL BEARING Original Filed llay 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 HI Z6 INVENTOR. JOSEPH M. O'MALLEY ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1949 J. M. OMALLEY 2,438,514

ROLLING MILL BEARING Original Filed May 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH M. O'MA LEY di -W Nov. 15, 1949 J. OMALLEY 2,488,514

ROLLING MILL BEARING Original Filed llay 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 7/ q 4 6 Ie- 9 4 4 2 7 619 67 x 68 I Z 66 /6 42 43 5 552 45 48 Z6 44 a 63 l 4 INVENTOR. JOSEPH M. O'MALLEY A TTORNE Y J. M. O'MALLEY 2,488,514

Nov. 15, 1949 nomue um. BEARING 7 Original Filed May 27, 1946 4 Sheet-Sheet 4 33\ M 92 =5 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH M. O'MALLEY Afro/may Patented Nov. 15, 1949 ROLLING MILL BEARING Joseph M. CMalley, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts rlginal application May 27, 1946, Serial No. 672,355. Divided and this application June 24, 1948, Serial No. 34,942

3 Claims.

This invention relates to rolling mill bearings, and more particularly to the construction and arrangement of roll neck bearings of the waterlubricated type having bearing surfaces of phenolic resins or similar non-metallic materials. This application is a division of my prior application'Serial No. 672,355, filed May 2'7, 1946.

It is one object of the invention to provide a roll neck bearing having means for applying the lubricating fluid to the bearing surfaces in a more effective manner.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a roll neck hearing which will be more efiectively cooled than prior constructions.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a roll neck bearing which will be capable of withstanding heavy thrust loads throughout a long life of service.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a roll neck bearing which may be readily 'removed from the roll.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a roll neck bearing for use with the upper roll of a horizontal mill and having improved means for supporting the weight of the roll.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a hor zontal rolling mill with the improved roll neck bearings mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a roll carrier forming a part of the upper bearing;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a bearing liner retainer; I

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of Fig.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the upper bearing viewed from its inner end;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the lower bearing viewed from its inner end;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a roll carrier strap; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a thrust ring retainer key.

The embodiment illustrated comprises a horizontal rolling mill of the two-high type including a housing l5 shaped to provide theusual window 16 (Fig. 1) and having a removable cap ll. This cap is secured to the housing in a well-known manner by means of heavy vertical bolts [9 and wedges 20, the lower ends of the bolts being pivotally connected to the housing posts by pins 2!. As best shown in Fig. 2, the mill also includes an upper roll 23 having a barrel 24, cylindrical roll neck 25, and wabbler 26, and a lower roll 28 having a barrel 29, cylindrical'roll neck 30, and wabbler 3|. The roll necks 25 and 30 are rotatably supported in upper and lower bearings 33 and 34 respectively, which are located in the housing window l6 and held in place by suitable clamps 35 (Fig. 1) on the outer face of the housing. Liner plates 36 are secured by screws 31 to the opposite sides of the window It adjacent the lower bearing 34. The top of the upper bearing 33 engages a block 38 on the lower end of a heavy vertical screw 39 mounted in the housing cap I 1. The bottom of the lower bearing 34 rests on a rocker shoe 40 which is located in a concave recess in the adjacent portion of the housing.

Each of the bearings 33 and 34' is in the form of a heavy generally rectangular metal chock, preferably of cast steel, having a bore 42 extending horizontally therethrough to receive the corresponding roll neck 25 or 30, the bore being somewhat larger in diameter than the roll neck. Within this bore there is mounted an arcuate liner 43 of phenolic resin or other suitable nonmetallic material having its inner concave cylindrical surface in engagement with the roll neck to receive the radial load resulting from the rolling pressure. extends throughout nearly the entire length of the bearing, and circumferentially it extends through somewhat less than half the circle. The liner 43 is mounted against the upper surface of the bore 42in the upper bearing 33, and against the lower surface of the bore inthe lower bearing 34. As shown in Fig. 4, the side edges of each liner are provided with beveled surfaces 44 which face the adjacent outer surface of the roll neck to provide sharply'converging grooves 45.

Means is provided to secure the liner 43 in position while permitting ready removal thereof when replacement is necessary. For this purpose two longitudinally extending grooves 41 are provided in the surface of the bore 42, adjacent the respective edges of the liner, the outer ends of the grooves being closed, as best shown in Fig. 6. Within each groove 41 there is mounted a bearin liner retainer 48 in the form of an elongated bar In the axial direction this linerhaving a thin hook-like rib portion 49 along its inner edge which engages the beveled surface I of the liner. This bar has three tapped holes ll therein in the side remote from the roll neck to' receive screws 52 which extend through counterbored holes 59 in the sides of the bearing chocks II and 34.

The bars 49 serve not only as retainers for the liners 43 but also as means for distributing water to the bearing surfaces of the liners. For this Purpose each bar is provided with a longitudinally extending recess 55 located adjacent the outer side of the rib 49, and this rib is formed with a series of notches 58 therethrough which provide water discharge orifices communicating with the recess. In order to supply water for delivery to these orifices two large chambers 51 are provided in the upper portion of the chock 33 at opposite sides of the axis, and two similar chambers 51 are provided in the lower portion of the chock ll, likewise at opposite sides of the axis. Each chamber 51 is connected to the adjacent groove 41, and thus to the recess 55, by two vertical passages 58. Preferably, the two chambers 51 in each bearing are connected to one another by three transverse horizontal passages 59 which are formed in the bearing adjacent the liner 43. Water is delivered to one of the chambers 51 in each bearing through a pipe 60. Approximately one-half the water thus supplied will flow through the passages 59 to the other chamber 51. From the chambers 51 the water will flow through the vertical passages 58 to the recesses 55 and thence through the notches 56 into the converging grooves 45. From one of these grooves, depending upon the direction of rotation, the water will be carried along by the roll neck or 39 (as the case may be) in the form of a film to lubricate the concave surface of the bearing liner 43. The water will escape from the bearings around the outer ends of the roll necks.

Means is provided to support the weight of the upper roll 23, when no stock is passing between the rolls, and thus hold the roll neck 25 in contact with the liner 43 of the upper bearing 33. For this purpose the upper bearing is provided with a large cavity 53 which extends horizontally through the lower portion of the bearing from one side thereof to the other and intersects the lower part of the bore 42. To ensure proper drainage of this cavity when the mill is shut down, two small holes 64 lead rearwardly from the bottom thereof through the rear wall of the bearing. Within the cavity 53 there is mounted a carrier 65 which extends horizontally beneath the roll neck. An upwardly concave segmental liner 6] of phenolic resin or the like is mounted on the upper surface of the carrier and attached thereto by clips 58 and screws 59. This liner engages the lower surface of the roll neck and is curved to fit the same properly. Two vertical plates 1| are located on opposite sides of the bearing 33 and in sliding contact with the bearing and with the sides of the housing window I5.

These plates close the ends of the cavity 69 against the escape of water therefrom. 0n the inner surface of each plate ll there is provided a hook-shaped block 12 which projects into the cavity 63, these blocks being located beneath and in engagement with transverse ribs 13 which extend downwardly from the adjacent ends of the carrier 65. Vertical rods 15 are-welded or otherwise secured to the upper ends of the plates II and extend-upwardly through openings I5 (Fig. 1) in the housing caps II. The upper portions 4 of these rods are surrounded by coiled compression springs ll which are held in place by washers 19 and nuts 89 mounted on the threaded upper ends of the rods. These springs subject the rods to tension forces which support the carrier 95 and the weight of the upper roll.

The lower bearing 94 is formed with a transverse cavity 92 (Fig. 4) which extends horizontally in the upper portion of the bearing and intersects the upper part of the bore 42. To the upper wall of this cavity and directly above the roll neck it there is attached a pad or strip 99. by means of countersunk-head screws 84 (Pig. 2). This pad is made of phenolic resin or the like, and it serves to prevent possible damage to the roll neck during roll chan ing. through accidental contact of the roll neck with the metal surfaces of the Not only do the improved bearings support radial low but they also resist outward thrust or axial loads imposed thereon by the rolls during the operation of the mill. Thus, by employing similar bearings at opposite ends of the rolls. the rolls may be held in the proper location endwise, regardless of thrust loads resulting from unbalanced pass grooves or other causes. For this purpose each bearing 33 and 34 is provided in its inner face with an undercut annular groove 85 coaxial with the bore 42 and opening into the bore. This groove is interrupted at diametrically opposite points by two somewhat deeper rectangular grooves or slots 81, preferably located in the horizontal axial plane. It will be noted from Fig. 8 that the groove 85 of the lower bearing is further interrupted by reason of its intersection with the top surface of the bearing. Within the undercut groove 85 of each bearing there are mounted two thrust ring segments of phenolic resin or the like arranged to project inwardly from the bearing and into engagement with the adjacent end or shoulder of the roll barrel 24 or 29, as the case may be. The two thrust ring segments for the upper bearing, as well as the lower segment for the lower bearing, are each designated by the numeral 98. The upper segment for the lower bearing is identical with the segments 88 except that it is flattened or cut away substantially flush with the top of the bearing in order to avoid interference with the upper bearing. Each of the thrust ring segments extends through slightly less than one half the circumference, and their ends are positioned adjacent the grooves 51, the latter being of sufficient width to permit insertion of the ring segments. one at a time, in the undercut grooves 85. In order to retain the ring segments in place, a key 92 is inserted in each groove 81 to engage the adjacent ends of the segments. Each key is fastened to the bearin by a hollow head screw 93 which extends through a counterbored hole 94 in the key. Since the two thrust ring segments for each bearing extend throughout nearly the entire circumference, they provide considerable thrust load capacity. Furthermore the load is symmetrically applied relative to the bearing axis, so that there is no tendency to tilt the bearing.

It will now be apparent that in the operation of the invention, water will enter one of the chambers 51 in each bearing from the pipe 5|! connected thereto, and thence a portion of the water will flow through the horizontal passages 59 to the other chamber 51. From these chambers the water will travel through the vertical passages 58 to the recesses 55 and thencethrough the notches 55 to the converging grooves 45 to ments in the groove.

provide a lubricating film between the roll neck and the liner 43. The water flow through the several passages will aid materially in cooling the bearing. Some of the water will travel inwardLv along the bore 42 to lubricate the thrust ring segments. and some water will escape from the bearing between the ends of the thrust ring segments, adjacent the keys 92. Most of the water however will escape from the outer end of the bore 42, through the annular clearance space surrounding the roll neck. When rolls are to be changed. the housing caps l1 ma be lifted from the roll housings, and the upper bearings and the upper roll will remain suspended from the 1 housing caps b the rods 15. The bearings are not attached to the rolls in any way, and it is accordingly 9. very simple matter to remove and replace the bearings. The bearings have ample capacity to support both radial and thrust loads, and the carriers 65 in the upper bearings will support the upper roll when no stock is passing through the mill.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rolling mill bearing comprising a chock having a bore therethrough to receive the neck of a roll, the inner face of the chock having an annular undercut groove coaxial with the bore and two diametrically opposed slots interrupting the groove. two thrust ring segments mounted within the groove and projecting inwardly from the chock in position to engage a shoulder on the roll, and keys mounted in the slots to retain the acein the slots to retain the chock.

2. A rolling mill bearing comprising a chockhaving a bore therethrough to receive the neck of a roll. the inner face of the chock having an annular undercut groove coaxial withthe bore and opening into the bore, the groove being interrupted at diametrically opposite points by two slots, two thrust ring segments mounted within the groove and projecting inwardly from the chock in position to engage a shoulder on the roll, the ends of the segments the edges of the slots and the slots being of sumcient width to permit insertion of the segments one at a time into the groove, and keys mounted segments by engaging the adjacent ends thereof.

3. A rolling mill bearing comprising a chock having a bore therethrough to receive the neck of a roll, the inner face of the chock having an annular undercut groove coaxial with the bore and opening into the bore, the groove being interrupted at diametrically opposite points by two slots which are deeper than the groove, two thrust ring segments mounted within the groove and projecting inwardly from the chock in position to engage a shoulder on the roll, the ends of the segments being located adjacent the edges of the slots and the slots being of suflicient width to permit insertion of the segments one at a time into the groove, keys mounted in the slots to retain the segments by engagin the adjacent ends thereof, and screws fastening the keys to the JOSEPH M. O'MALLEY.

No references cited.

being located adjacent 

